Porsche’s 356 was way ahead of its time in many ways. We drove what’s reckoned to be the world’s best of the early split-windscreen models to see what all the fuss was about

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A focus on MATRA

MATRA – Mécanique-Aviation-Traction – was a French aerospace group that took over René Bonnet and continued making its sportscar. It penned its own fiberglass design – the 530 – in 1967 as a V4 mid-engined and bizarre-looking coupé and Targa model. Then, it jumped into bed with SIMCA to build the better-looking and exciting Bagheera.

Ironically though, the marque is better known for the distinctly un-sporty ‘lifestyle’ Rancho which effectively invented the idea of rugged-looking faux off-roaders. Although they never carried the MATRA name, the Renault Espace and Avantime were also built by the company. The former was a runaway success, the latter a brave but total failure which caused MATRA to retreat from car-building in 2003.